In U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,795 issued Mar. 2, 1993, the present inventor describes a precision linoleum edge trimming tool for trimming the edge portions of heavy gauge industrial or commercial linoleum at a bordering wall. The linoleum edge trimming tool described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,795 is intended for handling the thickest and stiffest grades of linoleum and is constructed accordingly. For example the heavy gauge linoleum trimmer is formed with a throat or channel for receiving and guiding the linoleum floor covering. External brackets and related design features brace against the wall and floor while holding the heavy gauge linoleum to be cut.
The present invention is directed to a new wall trimming tool for cutting flexible or soft residential gauge floor covering materials and wall cove materials. It should therefore be possible to use a lighter and simpler tool in this context.
The wall trimming tool of which Applicant is aware for currently cutting residential grade flexible or "soft" floor and wall covering materials is the Congoleum T040 "ACCU-TRIMMER" (TM) sheet vinyl wall trimmer. The Congoleum wall trimmer is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,395,453 and 3,382,579. According to the design and construction of this tool, a curved metal surface is provided for abutting against the floor and wall at the floor/wall intersection. Two slanted blades project from the curved surface at the floor/wall intersection. An upright handle extends above the Congoleum tool for manually holding and guiding the tool along the floor/wall intersection. The blades are held in place by a spring loaded blade holder.
A primary disadvantage of the currently available tool described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,395,453 and 3,382,579 is that the tool is inherently unstable. While holding and guiding the tool using the upright handle it is difficult to prevent the tool from swaying from side to side. The position of the handle makes it difficult to maintain the tool in a flat position on the floor. Furthermore the spring loaded blades can move over a range of lateral positions under spring tension further aggravating inaccurate cuts caused by the instability of the tool.